Through him we are fully confident that whatever we ask, according to his will, he will grant us. If we know that he hears us whenever we ask, we know that we already have what we asked of him.

If you see your brother committing sin, a sin which does not lead to death, pray for him, and God will give life to your brother. I speak, of course, of the sin which does not lead to death. There is also a sin that leads to death; I do not speak of praying about this. Every kind of wrongdoing is sin, but not all sin leads to death.

We know that those born of God do not sin, but the one who was born of God protects them and the evil one does not touch them.

We know that we belong to God, while the whole world lies in evil.

We know that the Son of God has come and has given us power to know the truth.

We are in him who is true, his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

My dear children, keep yourselves from idols.

Gospel Reading: Jn 3:22-30

Jesus went into the territory of Judea with his disciples. He stayed there with them baptizing. John was also baptizing in Aenon near Salim where water was plentiful; people came to him and were baptized. This happened before John was put in prison.

Now John's disciples had been questioned by a Jew about spiritual cleansing, so they came to him and said, "Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, and about whom you spoke favorably, is now baptizing and all are going to him."

John answered, "No one can take on anything except what has been given him from heaven. You yourselves are my witnesses that I said: 'I am not the Christ but I have been sent before him.' Only the bridegroom has the bride; but the friend of the bridegroom stands by and listens, and rejoices to hear the bridegroom's voice. My joy is now full. It is necessary that he increase but that I decrease."

Commentary

JESUS and John are both baptizing in Judea. And once again John testifies that he is only a witness to the Christ. He is the friend of the bridegroom rejoicing that the time of the wedding is near. His place is to stand by, listen and rejoice in Jesus' voice loose in the world. This is John's prayer and the prayer of every disciple: "My joy is now full. It is necessary that he increase but that I decrease."

We have all been baptized. Now it is time to look at our lives and see if we testify and witness to the presence of Jesus in the world. Do we know his voice and live in joy knowing that we serve the Word? How good are we at disappearing so that the presence of God is clearly seen and heard among us?

General Intercessions

–   That the Church may continue with compassion the task of healing of Jesus our Lord, that the sick may be comforted, the downtrodden set free, and the poor and the weak be protected, we pray:

–   That in our Christian communities we may be concerned about one another as the Lord is solicitous about us, and that we may enrich one another with every good gift of heart and mind, we pray:

–   That those whose faith has been shaken by the changes in the Church and in the world, may learn to trust again in the Lord and find inner peace, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

We bring before you, loving Father,
these gifts of bread and wine,
which come from your own hand.
They are the signs of life and growth.
Open our hearts to the depth
of the life of Jesus, your Son,
that our life, commonplace as it is,
may be rich and full
with the goodness and warmth of Jesus.
May thus our life become
a hymn of praise and thanks to you
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

Lord God, loving Father,
our sharing in this eucharist
has borne witness to our living faith
in the person and life of your Son.
May his presence among us not leave us indifferent
but commit us to break the chains of evil
and to let his justice and loyal love
grow in us and in the world.
We are confident that you will hear our prayer
on account of him who lives in us,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Blessing

With John the Baptist may we say: may we decrease, that is, consider ourselves less important, but may the Lord Jesus increase and grow in us, with the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.